thoughts for thursday.

i'm curious about something.

how many of you clean your house before you have company over?  we are having tucker's birthday party on saturday night and i'm in the total clean mode.  the bathroom is pretty much done, but i still have work to do in every other room in the house.  eeek!

so, do you go out all if you are having company or no?  if not, what do you usually clean - just the living room?  how many people have to come over before you get a little crazy and clean every room like myself?  give me the details on your 'company cleaning modes'.  hahaha!

leave me a comment so i have something to read during my 'cleaning breaks'.

Comments

[Nicole]

I guess I should also say, if we're having a party/gathering/cookout... we do clean the main areas really well. I meant (in the previous comment)that if a friend or family member just stops by, or is just coming to visit etc... I don't normally clean like a crazy lady.

[Nicole]

It depends on who is coming over. If they have never been to our house.... we do a super duper clean. I want the first impression to be good. If they're close friends/family... no I usually don't clean. Sometimes I'll straighten up a bit, but I don't do any deep cleaning that's for sure.

[Shawn Koca]

I most definitely clean every room in the house if I know company is headed our way. That includes the master bath, that no one ever sees anyway but I have to know that my whole house is clean. And it doesn't matter if it's one or 20 coming over, the house gets the whole once over...litter boxes, birdcage, doggie nose prints off the windows...you name, it gets done. I try to this every Friday anyway because we have a 15 yo dd that has kids over constantly on the weekends and that makes it easier to keep up with the kitchen mess, I mean, situation!!!

[anne]

Wow, this appears to be a hot topic. I try and clean a lot before people come over, if it's a special occasion like a holiday or b-day party. But if it's just dinner or something, I clean the 'main zones' like living room, dining room, main bathroom, and kitchen. I couldn't stand it if my bathroom or kitchen weren't clean and I had guests. Ew. Having a kid(s) certainly puts a new spin on cleaning. As in, you don't really have time to do it. People always say to not worry about cleaning for them, but I can never listen and I always have to at least vacuum and clean the bathroom quick, even if it's just a friend coming over.

[Denise H.]

HAHA! If I know that anyone is coming over to my house I clean it from top to bottom. Although, sometimes I leave the office messy because afterall it is just a catch all room.

But, prior to our christmas party I cleaned the whole entire thing. Closets, cupboards, windows, and everything else.

[Mel]

Holy crap dude, 24 comments...with mine 25...NICE. I'm lucky if I get one!!! anyway...if we're having people over....the ENTIRE house gets cleaned. Vacuum, sweep, mop, all garbages out, mirrors and windows get washed, dusting is done, the stairs even get vacuumed. LOVE having people over!!!

[Angie]

I clean the main rooms and throw everything in the bedrooms. No one is going in there, right? I'm awful about cleaning, hate it. I let it go until I can't stand it and then swirl like a tornado. But for company? Just worry about the rooms they will be in, is my motto!

[amy]

I pretty much clean everything. For me, cleaning isn't the issue as I have to time to keep the house pretty clean. The bigger issue is decluttering. It seems that we just have too much stuff or too much stuff that doesn't have the propper home, albeit a closet, shelf, space in the attic, etc.!

[Britni]

I clean the places that people are going to see and that's about it. But I'm not a big cleaning person for anything.

[carrie]

Don't hurt yourself too much cleaning "before"... you're just going to have to redo it "after."

Have fun!

p.s. I clean like a maniac before & after.

[Lfm]

I clean every room. And my hubbie has nicknamed me Taz...as in the tazmanian devil because I will be sitting down on the couch and all of sudden pop up and start feverishly cleaning something.

[trav]

well i think i'm gonna have to sell out Wifey on this one (sorry babe). we could've just cleaned the entire place 2 days ago and if somebody new is coming over, it all gets done again. sometimes i wonder if i would be the same way if i was on my own. as much as i would like to think i'd be ok with having a "lived in" house, i think i'd be doing the exact same thing. i'm pretty sure it comes from the fact that growing up my mom, bless her heart, liked to collect things...that's putting it very kindly :) and our house always seemed cluttered to me (still does whenever we head home). i think i've picked up enough of her traits, no need to have that one too ;) i think it was pretty evident in college when people would come over, i had to have our room picked up no matter what.

[Steph]

I am a clean freak. I tend to clean ALL the time, whether or not people are coming over. But when company is coming, I pretty much go crazy cleaning. And, I have to keep the entire house clean since we've been remodeling the last couple years and everyone always wants to see the progress. Have fun!!

[Mary]

I like having people over. It forces me to keep a clean house!
During the week I'm always mortified if someone comes over unexpectedly because I slack off big time during the week. The house is usually just more messy than dirty. I do all my cleaning on the weekends.
I make sure my bathroom and kitchen and dining room are super clean when we have company.

[gina]

OHMYGOD. I freak out. I clean the whole thing just in case someone goes somewhere I didn't think they would. And I cook. I cook more food than my guests could possibly eat. It drives my husband insane but I can't help it. It's how I'm built.

[jenny's mom]

i clean before christmas really good coz i have family over, otherwise no one hardly ever comes over so i just clean for us. i like a clean house but hate to dust so that usually never gets done. just surface dusting once in awhile. my house is cluttered with my treasures in which i love. when my kids do come over or the grandkids (or oakley my grand dog) they don't care what the house looks like. it's usually just a short visit so i don't really do anything special. i guess if the neighbor is going to run over i just pick up quick like. overall i have a clean house....

[Lisa]

It's funny. I can live with the clutter and messiness myself, but I would be mortified for anyone to see my house the way it normally is daily. I clean like a fool before people come over. Guess you could call it my "dirty" little secret. LOL

[Cass]

I do this too - I really go crazy when we have overnight guests - it's typically a 2 day process. Day 1 - straighten up everything - remove items that are not in the right room and put them in the right place, do all laundry, pull out guest basket that has fresh towels, trial size everything, extra toothbrushes, etc. Remove anything that isn't for public consumption (read, cadbury mini eggs). Day 2 - Dust, Floors and organize the refrigerator - prepping anything that can be done before, marinating dinners, slicing vegetables and putting meals together so it's as easy as possible.

[Jill]

I'm a simple gal. I used to stress myself out over cleaning, and I've since realized that life is too short and that it does get done. Rather than spend 3-4 hours or more in one day trying to get it all done at the same time, I do a little bit of cleaning during the week. Vacuum one day, sweep and mop the next. It never looks "all done" at the same time, but I know my house is clean.
For company, I clean my toilets and sinks, dust and vacuum the living room and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. That is about it.

[Chanley]

This is funny you are posting this. Because I'm in clean mode too. We have friends coming over tomorrow (Friday) evening. They have not seen our new house (we moved in last July). We'll want to give them a tour. Ever room will need to be cleaned. We are pretty good about leaving the house is good condition by of course there is dirt, scum, dust, grim in every crevasse an corner.
My usual routine is:
Bathrooms (3 full baths),
Sweep and Mop Tile floors (kitchen and hallway,
Vacuum living room, office, upstairs steps, and all upstairs bedrooms,
Wipe down all kitchen counters,
Remove fingerprints, water stains and food marks off our stainless steel appliances (oven, microwave, fridge, dishwasher) also our 2 stainless steel trash cans
Tidy up the huge messy pile of papers and other crap on my desk,
And IF I have time I try to dust the house. That's our routine.
My husband is awesome and helps me with this list of chores.
And it feels so good when I can walk through my house afterwards and know it's cleaned well.

We are normally very good about cleaning every Saturday morning but when company comes over it definitely gets done right. I clean like this for any type of visitor (neighbor, friend, family, playdate etc..). If someone drops by unexpectedly then I really hope that there are not too many dishes piled up in the kitchen sink and that my son (3 1/2) didn't leave a drop of pee on the toilet seat.

HAPPY CLEANING!!!
Best news (not really) is that you'll get to clean it all again on Sunday because it will need it.

[Jaime]

Ha!! For some reason I like to have the bathroom cleaned! I hate going to other people's houses and their bathroom isn't clean. I just get grossed out....
And then I suppose the main areas we are using, too:)

[heather]

Oooh, interesting topic!!
As a rule I try not to run around before company like a madwoman cleaning my house. We love having an absolutely open house... anyone is welcome at any time... now that's not as optimized as it used to be back home; but we're slowly building up our friend "base" here and love having last minute company and friends drop by whenever. I try to keep the house at least quickly "pick-up-able", and that's about all I'll do in anticipation of company. I'm of the "this is our house, and it is lived in!" camp.
However, if it's a party or a big group of people coming over, I'll make sure I get the bathrooms and that the kitchen is clean. The only time I stress about it is if it's someone that has never been to our house before. I don't know what it is, like a first impression kind of thing? But I have to clean the ENTIRE house... our bedrooms, all the bathrooms, the playroom, dusting, straightening, window washing, potpourri-ing, the whole nine yards.
Otherwise I just kind of shrug it off. My friends know me and I'm not trying to impress them. :)

[Robyn]

LOL, it's the only time this house ever gets really cleaned. I'm so glad I don't have any friend that just drop by. I'd die if they saw my house most of the time.

[Kelly]

Here's the scene....
Me: with a vacuum or a broom or taking out the garbage or picking up the living room etc.
Luke: whose coming over?
Evidently I only do those things when we have company. My usual MO is to clean when it hits me. I started out with a routine but after the twins came and we moved I lost that. Now that the kids are getting older I can get more done and they like to "help". Good luck with the cleaning and the party!

[Emilie]

OMG YES! I hate...HATE it when the house is dirty and someone is coming over. For some reason I am really picky especially when Bobby is coming over....I feel funny if the house is "dirty" and someone is coming over. Im all for the " This is ME" or "deal with it" type of thinking but I just cannot stand it! :)

[Hope]

I clean like a mofo. I think that I drive the BF a little bonkers with it, really. Our landlords hired professional cleaners on Monday (they're trying to sell this place). I totally cleaned for them.

[Kasey]

When we have company over, we try to clean everything, but definetely hit the bathrooms, kitchen, and living room. That's where most of the people are going to be anyway! :) Have fun at the party!!!

[stacy]

great thoughts for thursday. i don't keep my house extremely clean most of the time. it's clean and for the most part tidy but not "company clean." yesterday was my crazy cleaning day since i was having people over that have never been to my house, which means they want a tour.i make a list for myself of everything/room that needs to be done. then when i cross it off it feels like i accomplished something. so yes, i do go crazy on the cleaning before company comes, even my mom. i guess i just feel that my guests would appreciate the clean home.

[Leah]

I've been very open that I'm not a huge clean freak to say the least. I love having people come over because it FORCES me to clean. I clean EVERYTHING then. From the front of the cabinets to the corners of the bathroom - it all gets done.

[jessica]

i do the 'important' areas -- the places we will be using. those usually tire me out. anyhow, that's when i get the most cleaning done so i like to have people over!